CLASSIC VEGAS, MODERN COMFORTS

By Heather Turk

El Cortez Hotel & Casino may have celebrated its 81st anniversary last November, but the historic property located in the heart of Las Vegas’ Fremont East Entertainment District has never looked better.

Check in to the newly renovated El Cortez Hotel & Casino

The only standing casino on the National Register of Historic Places, El Cortez completed a $25 million renovation this past August. Since 2020, the family owned and operated property has made many significant changes to elevate the guest experience, while still preserving the vintage charm that visitors have come to expect from downtown Las Vegas’ longest continuously running hotel and casino.

“We just spent over $25 million renovating the entire property, but the operation is much the same as it was when Jackie

Gaughan purchased El Cortez in the 1960s,” said Adam Wiesberg, general manager of El Cortez Hotel & Casino. “Playing and staying at El Cortez is like walking back in time to the good old days of Las Vegas that everyone misses today.” elcortezhotelcasino.com

The final piece of El Cortez’s $25 million renovation was the hotel’s Original 47 rooms that were built in 1941. The only accommodations available when the infamous Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky owned the property in 1945, the rooms have an amazing history that can still be felt even though all aspects of the rooms have been upgraded to provide modern comforts. The accommodations are even stylized after Havana, Cuba, as a nod to the Mob’s first major venture into gambling before buying El Cortez, their first hotel and casino in Las Vegas.

In addition to the Original 47 rooms, the recent renovation included 200 remodeled Tower Premium rooms and suites that opened to guests in 2021. Boasting a warm, contemporary design blended with a bit of whimsy, the stylish accommodations draw inspiration from the Spanish Colonial Revival era. Decorative elements include traditional-style rugs, black-and-white floor tiles, modern accent furniture and carved wood details. A dazzling new high-limit gaming room and updated hotel lobby were unveiled in 2021 as well, and the casino floor was revamped with new ceilings and bold Axminster carpeting featuring a fiery leopard print and leaf design.

One of the biggest changes to the property, however, had nothing to do with its striking refresh. Last April, El Cortez began transitioning into a 21-and-older property. All guests staying at the hotel must now show valid state-issued identification to prove their age, and visitors must show their identification before entering the building. Despite all these updates, though, El Cortez remains one of the last places where adults can experience Las Vegas as it was in past generations.

“Downtown is home to some amazing gaming properties, but El Cortez will always be one of a kind,” Wiesberg noted.